Langkawi

There are about 100 islands in the Langkawi group, depending upon your definition of an island. Some could just as easily be identified as large rocks covered with trees and bushes.
From where we are anchored it is a 10 minute row in our dinghy to a small ferry terminal with a handy dinghy dock. From here it is a 15 minute walk into town for laundry, internet, banks, small shops and restaurants. Going the other direction we walk along the beach and then on pathways winding through a large park. Not far from the opposite end of the park is a good sized grocery store and a nice cool air-conditioned shopping mall. On the waterfront near the main ferry terminal is an enormous eagle sculpture and adjacent plaza. The eagle is illuminated at night and could easily guide a cruising boat into the harbor.

Friends Clive and Jean drive a rental car from Telaga Harbor where their boat is tied up, to Kuah town to pick us up for an island tour. As we drive out of town into a more rural setting we see monkeys alongside the road. Water buffalo seem to roam freely and don't take much notice of oncoming cars. There is a lot of undeveloped land on the island, some farmed and some covered by jungle.

At the Galeria Perdana, we saw exhibited hundreds of gifts which were given to the former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir over a period of 30 years. This unusual collection from countries all over the world includes ordinary as well as rare objects ranging from native handcrafts to carriages and a Mercedes.

On Wednesday and Saturday nights we sometimes go to the Night Market where local people erect stalls along a street and sell clothing, watches, jewelry, toys, fresh fruit and vegetables. The food stalls are the most fun and we walk along sampling satay chicken, arab bread with a little bag of curry sauce for dipping, thin folded pancakes with some kind of nut paste and myriad unrecognizable food items. As we were leaving one evening we passed a display of electronic pianos. A familiar tune reached our ears but seemed somewhat out of place here in Malaysia. It was "Red River Valley."